Historicism in Pragmatism: Lessons in Historiography and Philosophy

Abstract

Pragmatism involves simultaneous commitments to modes of inquiry that are philosophical and historical. This article begins by demonstrating this point as it is evidenced in the historicist pragmatisms of William James and John Dewey. Having shown that pragmatism focuses philosophical attention on concrete historical processes, the article turns to a discussion of the specific historiographical commitments consistent with this focus. This focus here is on a pragmatist version of historical inquiry in terms of the central historiographical categories of the object of historical inquiry and mode of historical periodization. After describing the basic historiographical consequences of pragmatism's historicism, the article moves to a discussion of the philosophical results of this historicism. The focus here is on the role that historical inquiry can play in the general philosophical perspective of pragmatism as well as on some recent texts that exemplify the dual pragmatist commitment to philosophy and history.

How the Mind-World Problem Shaped the History of Science: A Historiographical Analysis of Edwin Arthur Burtt's The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science Part II

“…9 Colin Koopman has recently published interesting work on pragmatism's progressive/melioristic historicism or 'transitionalism'. For his examination of pragmatism's historicist implications for philosophy, as well as its proposed solutions to contemporary historiographical problems (objectivism vs relativism, fact vs value, issue of periodization) see Koopman (2010). For his related monograph see Koopman (2009).…”

Pragmatist Historiography in Unmodern Philosophy and Modern Philosophy

“…Randall Auxier's work was mentioned in a previous footnote. I would highlight Colin Koopman's work on Dewey, Foucault and problematization (Koopman 2010 andKoopman 2011).…”

Dialogue Defining a Dilemma Demands Debate

“…For instance, Alan Trachtenberg (1997) argues that pragmatism, to some extent, explains the dialogue that both John Dewey and William James engaged in with different thinkers like Hegel, Kant, Schelling, and Fichte. Koopman (2010), on the other hand, identifies his idea that pragmatist thoughts hold historicism at the core. He outlines three separate camps of pragmatists, which he believes reflect how pragmatism can be employed to serve the American experiment.…”